Gab Quijada

THIS REVIEW IS BASED IN OUR OWN EXPERIENCE AND PERSONAL OPINION.

I should start telling a little bit about us so you will know what our expectations are.
We are a married couple with no kids, mid thirties, full time skilled working professionals, migrants, with almost 7 years living in Melbourne, travellers, food lovers (Including smashed avocado/brunch lovers). We absolutely love the unique Melbourne's lifestyle and have lived in places like Carlton, Richmond, Hawthorn, Carnegie and Burwood.

PROS

-Access to the city is quite easy and quick being the suburb 30Km from the CBD. the limited express train takes in reality 42mins to get to the city in peak hours. We used to live 17Km from the city, I would say there is no much of a difference about the time that I take to commute every morning.

-House affordability is still existent in this area. You still can get a family house for under 600K, units under 400K, so this was definitely the main reason why we moved out here being first home owners.

-Pacific Werribee shopping centre is very good. We can find all the stores that we need, no need to go shopping someplace else, its a big shopping centre. In general the area has everything you need in term of shopping for you and your house.

-A lot of planning for developing and redeveloping quite a few areas around whyndam city so its a good place for a long term investment - Price grow trend is still pretty good in comparison with more expensive and high end suburbs that seems to be stabilising (Please refer to Corelogic statistics or other source)

-Werribee river is very nice and relaxing for walks or bike rides. There are a few quite and nice pockets in the area-There are other few nice places around like the Werribee mansion, zoo and the beach.

- Seems to be a family friendly place with lots of activities for kids. Just my perception in comparison with other places that we have lived.

-In general it feels very similar to any other average suburb


CONS

- The west "stereotype" is in someway true. The area has a lot of diversity and the lower end of migrants or refugees population is more notorious, as well as stablished lower incomers. Not being discriminant on this aspect, I am a migrant myself, but you quite easy notice the difference in demographics. Please note there are many areas in Melb (not only west) with this profile. Overall you see a bit of everything. Personally this is something that doesnt bother me as far as it is safe, see next...

- Crime statistics are higher than the average eastern suburb, but look carefully at this aspect because there are some areas around the east/south-east that might have the same number or even higher. It is not that alarming like people say don’t go out after 7pm. In general you have to have the same degree of precaution like any other place. Be careful listening to people experiences or comments (specially those who never lived here and only repeat what they heard) Look at the statistics yourself and make your own decision. I don’t believe it is as bad as some people says, things happen yes, so do in other places around Melbourne. Look very carefully around the new estates as I have read about many breaks into outer new estates like manor vale or wyndam vale.

- Unfortunately, it does smell sometimes and I don’t know why people don’t mention anything about it. We have been here for almost 3 months and something smell to us. Most of the time is fine, but some days will stink almost everyday(like last couple of weeks- they might be doing some sort of work or its probably the hot weather?). I suspect the smell might come from the water treatment plant?, I used to work close to one and its a very similar smell, some people will say its too far to feel the smell, may be, but I have noted that it depends on winds and when it does it happens mornings or evenings and isn't a permanent smell. We have felt the smell in hoppers too. Some other people says is from fertilisers from near by farms?
I don't know, but this is in someway annoying specially if you have (like me) very sensitive sense of smell

-The area need more cafes and nightlife. We have been in a couple of good rated places but there are not a lot of options. I also feel it needs more specialty stores or fresh food markets to get organic produce, etc. Hopefully this change with the new developments
I also saw a food truck festival this year that was nice. Not sure how many more activities we will have coming to Werribe.

-I used to use the Glen Waverley line which I found pretty good. Werribee line is quite busy and I find more delays than glen Waverley, in particular peak hours in the afternoon. Morning is just fine. I park my car at Werribee station and commute from there. Car park is full around 7:30am.

In conclusion, if someone ask if we have had any regrets about moving to Werribee, we would say definitely no. I think it was a good investment and we hope to see the area to continue developing. It isn't perfect and it can't be compared with some others booming high end areas of Melbourne, but it is perfect for your first home or long term investment, we are happy with our decision.
No one should feel discouraged for what some people say, its all about your own experiences and what you want for your or your family.